California's Bullet Train Would Look Incredibly Cool And Connect LA To San Francisco In 3 Hours

California’s embattled $US68-billion high speed rail project got a boost yesterday when a state court ruled that $US8 billion in bonds could be issued to fund its initial stages.

The bullet train has been politically controversial. Gov. Jerry Brown has been behind it from the get-go, but critics have argued that it will be vastly more expensive to build than estimated. They have also questioned its planned route, which would join Los Angeles and San Francisco through the state’s agricultural heartland, the Central Valley.

And no one is sure if this massive infrastructure project, which could takes decades to complete, will ultimately attract enough riders to justify its mammoth financial outlay.

Regardless of how much it costs, where it goes, or who rides it, there’s little doubt that the train will look cool and enable a trip from SoCal or NoCal in three hours, joining the state’s two most important economic regions and — it’s hoped — spur development along the rail line’s inland route.

The critical route will join L.A. and San Francisco, but an L.A.-San Diego link is also possible, as is a connection to Sacramento.